revue Topophile

The Neolithic represents a pivotal period in human history, when the first villages and the practice of agriculture and animal husbandry emerged in the Near East. The invention of the brick mould in the 9ᵉ millennium was a ‘revolution’ in the history of building techniques. Its use enabled the mass production of a modular element, and tracing its history means addressing the question of its invention and its dissemination, but also that of the transmission of architectural knowledge.

On the basis of archaeological data that is now well documented for this period and ethnoarchaeological surveys carried out among present-day populations, the aim is to define the mechanisms underlying the transmission of architectural techniques. The aim of this paper is to put forward new hypotheses on how architectural skills were learned and passed on. Did construction specialists exist in these early periods? What means did builders use to share their knowledge?